Arsene Wenger: You'll miss me when I'm gone

If I listen to others, we are not favourites but I trust our quality, our spirit and our mental strength.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

But the Arsenal boss has no intention of quitting the ailing Gunners just yet, even claiming his side have got what it takes to win the Champions League this season.

They have been knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Bradford and the FA Cup by Blackburn, but Wenger insists Arsenal can overcome another team beginning with B tonight.

They host mighty Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League. The Gunners are fi fth in the table, 21 points behind runaway leaders Manchester United and without a trophy in eight seasons.

Last season’s beaten finalists Bayern are 15 points clear in the Bundesliga and have won nine domestic trophies since Arsenal last bagged silverware.

But Wenger yesterday reminded his critics of Arsenal’s pedigree, even if it has been a long time since they have been best in show.

“In Europe you face some teams with quality – Barcelona, Real Madrid – but they don’t win it every year,” he said.

“We have been consistently there. But now we want to break through. We have been in the final (in 2006) and consistently in the quarter-final, semi-finals.

“In Europe, we have beaten everybody, which is what people forget. And we are the only team that has gone into a final without conceding a goal, despite the fact that we never have a good defensive record.”

And of his chances of winning Europe’s most prestigious club competition he said: “People will say it is not the best opportunity to do it. I think it is a fantastic opportunity, because I feel I have a strong team. And I am sure I will be right.

“I know if I say we will win it this season people will laugh at me because we just lost against Blackburn. But it can happen because football is not predictable or as mathematical as that.

“What I find absolutely unbelievable is that when it (something unpredictable) happens to me, it is a complete storm.”

Chelsea showed last season that strange things do happen, winning the Champions League – beating Bayern in the final – while finishing sixth in the Premier League, 25 points adrift of Manchester City. But Wenger insisted he was not concerned about the Blues’ achievement.

“What is important is that you play to win the competition and at some stage you have to play a big team,” he explained.

“If I listen to others, we are not favourites but I trust our quality, our spirit and our mental strength.

“It is massive for us. Not because of what happened on Saturday but because we started the season with a lot of scepticism.

“I think we have made improvements and it would be nice for us to continue with this improvement until the end of the season.”

Wenger’s pre-match press conference was a strange affair yesterday.

At one stage he demanded: “Can we get some questions about tomorrow’s game, that would be very nice.”

Then he snapped at one reporter asking about the German side’s defence, saying: “I don’t talk about Bayern Munich.”

But he did address the suggestion that his side are slow starters, after midfi elder Mikel Arteta had pointed out the differences between Arsenal’s performances before and after the break this season.

The Spanish midfielder said: “The last few big games, we missed the first 20-25 minutes and gave the opposition too much respect.

“It’s massive because if you start well then you have a great chance to win the big games. We know we have to face them right from the off.

“The table of the Premier League of first and second 45 minutes is very different.

“That shows our qualities are good, because when teams tire we’re able to score – but also we’re not ready to do what we want from the start.”

Wenger backed up Arteta, saying: “He sums it up well. We are champions of England in the second half and in the first half, no. It is psychological, but I do not necessarily want to come out more on that.”

And he was eventually relaxed enough to depart with a quip, saying: “I am sure you would miss me when I am gone!”

Sadly for the 63-year-old, a battering by Bayern could see more and more fans wanting to find out if that is true.